


Dirty Little Street Rat

by Delirious_Comfort



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Happy Ending, Inappropriate Humor, Power Dynamics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-23 10:10:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4872811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Delirious_Comfort/pseuds/Delirious_Comfort
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[THIS STORY IS CURRENTLY ON HIATUS. I PROMISE I WILL FINISH IT ONE DAY, BUT RIGHT NOW, I'M NOT FEELING IT.]</p><p>Emma Swan wins an internship at City Hall. At the end of the year, the best intern wins a free ride to college. The Mayor herself refuses to address Emma as anything other than 'Dirty Little Street Rat,' which may complicate things just a tiny little bit. </p><p>This won't be a long story. I'm thinking five chapters in total. Bring on the fluff!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dirty Little Street Rat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [soulofsilence](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulofsilence/gifts).



Kathryn groaned and sighed as the three new interns shuffled on their feet in front of her. The mayor was going to eat them alive and spit them out before lunch would commence. “Good morning, kids. My name is Kathryn Nolan.”

It had been an annual thing for years now; at the start of every calendar year City Hall would offer an internship to three young adults who couldn’t afford to go to college. They would work at City Hall for the duration of one year and whomever produced the best work at the end of the year, would be off to college with a City Hall Scholarship.

Kathryn’s eyes glanced over at the scruffy-looking boy who looked as if City Hall was the last place he wanted to be. “Your name?”

“Alex.”

“Alex, please make sure that when you come in tomorrow, you leave the mud on your shoes outside of City Hall, okay?” She smiled when he nodded, “Good.” She briefly looked at the list of names on her clipboard before turning her attention to the blond boy in front of her. In all her years at City Hall she had never seen anyone look so nervous. “You must be Stefan.”

He nodded and stammered, “Y-yes, that’s me.” Kathryn gave him five minutes with the Mayor before he would run off crying. “And last, but not least-”

“Emma Swan,” a voice interrupted.

Kathryn looked up in surprise. “Well, Emma, it’s not polite to cut people off mid-sentence,” she cautioned the blonde girl.

Emma shrugged, “Thought I would make life a little easier on you, isn’t that what we’re here for?”

Kathryn smiled, “All three of you, follow me and please… Do try and keep up.” She turned around and moved in the direction of the elevators, nodding her head to the councilmen that quickly strode past her. She pressed the button for the elevator and didn’t bother looking back as she spoke, “I’m taking you to meet the Mayor. As I’m sure you’ve all heard, the Mayor has a bit of a temper about her. Don’t take it personally, it took her several years to stop lashing out at me when we started working together and I grew up with her.”

She waited for the interns to step out of the elevator before gesturing them over to Regina’s office, “Don’t speak unless you’re spoken to and,” she looked at Emma, “whatever you do, do not interrupt the Mayor. One of you will be appointed as the Mayor’s personal intern, so I suggest you look alive and straighten your backs.” She inhaled sharply and opened the door to the Mayor’s office as she murmured, “May god have mercy on the poor bastard’s soul.”

 

* * *

 

Regina briefly glanced at the door when it opened before returning her attention to the stack of papers in front of her. “Oh, Kathryn. Where the hell is... Whatever his name is?” One hand mindlessly moved to her hair and pushed the glasses back down on her nose.

Kathryn sighed, “He quit.”

“What? Why?”

“What is his name?”

Regina frowned as she placed her signature at the bottom of a financial report, “I have no idea.”

“And that right there is exactly the reason he quit,” Kathryn taunted. “The new interns are here, perhaps you could say hello?”

Regina looked up and sighed at the sight before her. Her predecessor had come up with the brilliant plan to offer a scholarship to those who couldn’t afford to pay for college and while she wasn’t entirely against the idea, she hated the work that came with it. “I don’t need an intern, I need my assistant.”

“Maybe if you would bother to remember the names of the people that work for you, you wouldn’t find yourself in such a conundrum,” Emma murmured. Kathryn wanted to deck the girl for speaking out of turn, but admittedly she also quite enjoyed Emma’s rebellious streak. Perhaps she was just the adversary that the Mayor needed.

“And who, pray tell, might you be?” Regina asked as she leaned back in her chair and let her eyes wander of the young girl’s body. Her outfit was highly inappropriate for City Hall, but she shrugged it off, the dirty street rat probably couldn’t afford any fancy clothing.

“I’m Emma, it’s a short name, perhaps you’ll remember it in the morning,” Emma retorted. She hated people like Regina, the ones who thought they were better than anybody else just because they were in a position of power. She had dealt with people like that her entire life and she had developed an allergy to them. Regina was the vile of the earth and Emma could care less about jeopardizing her shot at a scholarship by mouthing off to the brunette.

“My, my,” Regina grinned and Emma was momentarily taken aback by it. “You have quite the mouth on you.” She turned to look at Kathryn, “I have no need for the boys, I’ll take the dirty street rat.” With that she dismissed Kathryn and motioned for Emma to come closer. She leaned forward in her chair as Emma sat down and slouched in her seat. “Sit up straight.”

Emma rolled her eyes before sitting up straight, “So, does becoming the Mayor’s intern come with any perks, like... Oh, let’s say, a scholarship at the end of the year?”

Regina huffed, “Hardly. I bet you won’t even last until the end of the week.”

“Is that a challenge, Madam Mayor?” Emma raised an eyebrow as she looked at the impeccably dressed Mayor. She briefly wondered how anyone could possibly be comfortable in such a tight pencil skirt, but then again, she never had much of a fashion sense. For all she knew the pencil skirt in combination with the tight blouse were clothing items that just fit snug around the Mayor’s body. She wouldn’t want to be caught dead in it though.

“I don’t dabble in challenges with street rats,” Regina sneered. “I expect you to be at work at 7 AM every day. If you are late, you will be replaced with one of the other interns. You will not leave work until I say you can leave, understood?”

“Sure,” Emma nodded.

Regina pointed towards a desk in the corner of her office, “You may take the desk of your predecessor. I suggest you take a look at the files he was working on. If you have questions,” Regina smirked, “figure out the answers on your own.”

Emma rolled her eyes, “What a lovely boss you are, the people must absolutely adore you.” She got up from her chair and moved to her new desk.

The next three hours were spent reading up on the projects her predecessor had been working on and she could already tell that he had hardly made an effort.

“Emma, come with me, it’s lunchtime.”

Emma looked up in surprise, she was so caught up in making adjustments that she hadn’t heard Kathryn come into the office. “That’s okay, I don’t need to eat.”

Kathryn frowned, “Are you sure?”

“If the street rat says she doesn’t want to eat, then leave her to it.” Regina said. “Send Jefferson to me after you’re done with lunch.”

Kathryn rolled her eyes, “Summon him yourself, Your Majesty. Contrary to what you may believe, I am not your assistant.” She smirked at the look Regina gave her and slammed the door behind her as she left the office.

Regina stood up and placed the folder she had been working on in the filing cabinet. She moved to the front of her desk and leaned against it, her hands on the desk at either side of her as she looked at Emma. The girl seemed to be fully emerged in whatever it was that she was working on. A world of difference with her old assistant really, he had always been lurking at her from behind the safety of his desk and on more than one occasion she had to remind him that she was out of his league.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-two,” Emma said without looking up. “You?”

“I hardly see the benefits of indulging that information to a dirty street rat,” Regina spat out the words and frowned when she got little to no reaction from Emma.

“Suit yourself, it’s not like I don’t know how to use Google,” Emma said as she leaned back in her chair and looked at Regina. “Rich, entitled woman like you, you’re probably the youngest mayor this town has ever seen,” Emma said with disdain.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, dear,” Regina smirked. “Did you write an essay for this internship?”

“I did.”

“I want to read it.”

Emma laughed, “Why? So you can use the contents of it to insult me some more?”

Regina crooked her head to the side and squinted her eyes, “What was your essay about?” She didn’t miss the brief flash of hurt that showed in Emma’s eyes before it disappeared and was replaced by something more sinister.

“None of your business.”

“Seeing as you are working for me now, I would say I have every right to know what your essay was about. I expect a copy on my desk in the morning.”

Emma sighed, “I don’t have a copy. I wrote it by hand.”

Regina frowned and stared at the girl disbelievingly, “You wrote an essay by hand? The essay that was the first step to getting you into a decent college?”

“That’s what I said,” Emma retorted.

“How unprofessional of you.”

Emma shrugged, “It got me an internship, didn’t it?”

Regina sighed exasperated, “Your attitude is appalling at best, your attire is absolutely atrocious and quite honestly, I’m having a hard time figuring out when you last brushed your hair.” She smirked when she noticed Emma tense up, “I suppose it makes sense – with you being a dirty little street rat and all.”

Emma was off of her feet in mere seconds and strode over to Regina, she was absolutely fuming as she looked at the Mayor with disdain. “I don’t know what makes you think you have the right to be as vile as you are, but I swear to god if you don’t put an end to it, I will show you exactly what kind of dirty street rat you’re dealing with.”

Regina laughed and pushed herself off of the desk, “Do remember who you’re talking to, dear. I can have you escorted from the premises with a flick of the wrist. You have no idea what I am capable of. Now sit your ass down and get to work.”

* * *

 

“Emma, a word please?” Kathryn asked as she wrapped her hand around Emma’s arm and pulled her aside. She frowned when Emma shrugged her arm free but didn’t comment on it. “How are things going with the Mayor?”

Emma shrugged, “Regina Mills is an entitled bitch.”

Kathryn bit her cheek to keep herself from laughing, “Is that truly how you wish to describe your boss? Please, remember the position you are in and what’s at stake here, Emma.”

“Just because I’m an intern doesn’t mean she gets to treat me like a dirty street rat,” Emma spat out. “I earned my position here fair and square and deserve to be treated with at least something that resembles respect.”

Kathryn nodded. Emma Swan continued to impress her, not that she would ever tell the blonde that. It was no secret that Regina was a hard-ass, a trait she undoubtedly inherited from her mother, and so far she had driven every assistant and intern out the door within a month’s time. “Well, in order to get respect, you have to show some.”

Emma humorlessly laughed, “Why should I give her my respect? She has done nothing to deserve any of it. Just because she’s the Mayor and in a position of power, doesn’t mean she automatically gets my respect.”

“That’s profound of you, Emma.” Kathryn gestured to the coffee machine, “You should probably bring her a cup. If you’re lucky the coffee will delay her bitchiness for a minute or two. No milk, no sugar.”

“Thanks,” Emma murmured as she rolled her eyes. If she had known that she would be bringing the Mayor coffee throughout the day, she would’ve never written the damn essay to begin with.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Kathryn said before turning to leave. She was halfway out the door when Emma cleared her throat.

“Actually…”

“Yes?”

“Regina wants to see my essay. Do you happen to have a copy?”

Kathryn smiled, “It’s Madam Mayor or Ms. Mills to you, Emma. As it so happens to be, Regina has already requested a copy of your essay and I put it on her desk earlier this morning.”

Emma frowned, “It’s 6.50 AM…”

“My day starts at five. It means I get two hours of working in utter silence before this place comes to life. I need it to keep my sanity,” Kathryn winked when Emma threw her the faintest of smiles.

“Wonder how long I’ll keep mine,” Emma murmured as she took off, coffee in hand. Regina had kept her at the office until late in the evening the previous day and to say she was tired would be an understatement.

She took a deep breath before pushing open the door to Regina’s office and growled when the Mayor didn’t even so much as looked her way. With a disgruntled sigh, she put the coffee cup on Regina’s desk and in her sweetest voice said, “Why yes, Madam Mayor, I am back for another fun day in the office. My night was fine, thank you very much. Oh, I’m doing great today, looking forward to working with you, Ma’am.”

“Are you quite done?”

“What’s my name?” Emma said as she crossed her arms. She was determined to keep up her attitude for as long as needed until Regina would show her the respect she deserved.

“Excuse me?” Regina said absent-mindedly as she looked over the black trimmed glasses on her nose.

“I said, what is my name?”

“I have no time for your childish games. Need I remind you that you are nothing but a dirty street rat and I am the Mayor of this town?”

Emma sighed, “Whatever you say, Your Majesty.” She moved to sit behind her desk and spun around in her chair as her computer started up.

Regina stood up and smoothed out the creases in her skirt before walking over to Emma. “We have a meeting in five minutes. I would appreciate it if you would go to the bathroom and straighten yourself out somewhat. I don’t expect any miracles from you, but anything is better than your current-“

“Will you get over yourself,” Emma spat out. “God, why do you have to be such a despicable human being?” She grabbed the tiny make-up bag that Regina dropped on her desk while spewing and stalked into the bathroom. One glance in the mirror told her that Regina was somewhat right. Compared to Regina she really did look like dirty street rat. She smoothed out her hair and opened the make-up bag.

“What the fuck is all this shit,” Emma murmured as she emptied the contents on the counter. She never had the role model in her life that taught her these things and to be quite honest – she couldn’t care less. She was a survivor, not a sophisticated asshole that could make the outside look pretty while the inside was still rotten to the inner core – like Regina.

“Let me guess, Regina sent you in here?”

Emma’s head turned to the direction of the voice and she smiled when Kathryn came from the stall behind her. “I didn’t know anyone was in here, sorry.”

“May I help?”

Emma shrugged, “If there’s any truth to Regina’s words, it’s a lost cause.”

“Ms. Mills, and I don’t quite believe that. I may have a solution to your problem – or rather Regina’s problem. I need some time to figure it out though. In the meantime,” Kathryn smiled as she stepped closer to Emma and tilted her head up with a finger, “let me help you out.”

Emma sighed as she followed Kathryn’s every instruction to close her eyes, tilt her head, open  her mouth and close it. She wondered how much time had passed when Kathryn told her to open her eyes and turned her to look in the mirror.

“Well, that’s certainly different,” Emma remarked as she stared at her reflection. The changes were subtle, but still the person staring back at her was not the person she recognized. “Thanks,” she murmured before putting the make-up back in the bag. “I should go, Regina is waiting for me.”

“Ms. Mills, Emma. The faster you learn to address her like that, the easier your life will be,” Kathryn smiled.

“You’re mistaken,” Emma softly said before opening the door. “My life is already shit and nothing Regina says to me or does to me is going to change that.”

* * *

 

There were few things in Emma’s life that bored her to tears – but the meeting she currently found herself in, easily made its way into her top five. Financial reports, statistics, and endless discussions about the city’s just didn’t do it for her. Regina had put her on the tedious job of taking notes and she despised Regina for making her do it by hand.

“Last, but not least,” Regina said as she approached the white board. “In three weeks’ time, it’s time for our annual staff party. I don’t know why we still insist on having these things, but apparently our employees are fond of them and it is our duty to please them.”

Emma rolled her eyes as she jotted down a summary of Regina’s words. She grinned when she realized she was definitely going to have to do some serious editing before handing the minutes over to the Mayor.

“I ask of each department to do a tally of participants and to send the list to my assistant by the end of the week. Anyone who doesn’t sign up, will not be allowed to attend, please make this abundantly clear within your individual departments.”

Several of the councilmen grunted as a response and with that the meeting was adjourned. Within seconds the room was empty and Emma bit her lip when Regina turned her attention to her.

“I take it you got all that?”

Emma sighed, “I’m not stupid, you know. I can listen and write like the best of them.”

“I want those minutes on my desk by the end of the day. I am putting you in charge of this staff party. You should find the details of what has been planned so far in the folder on your desk. Screw it up and your internship ends. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly,” Emma growled.

With that Regina left the room and Emma spat out to no one in particular, “I hate you, Ms. Mills.”

 

 


End file.
